It Was Never Going to Work
by Msmandijmoore
Summary: Life was never supposed to be this complicated. Antonio, Sylvie, and Matt navigate the complications of marriage, parenting, and life in general.
1. Chapter 1

"It's not fucking working Sylvie, it never has, we can't keep doing this." He got up and started pacing. "Maybe if we try counseling again? We can't just give up." Sylvie was upset she could see her marriage falling apart and was helpless to stop it. "Counseling? The first three times didn't help, what makes you think a fourth time will? We need to face it, you need to face it, it's over. I'm going to get a hotel room for a couple of nights until I figure out what to do." Sylvie was crying, he hated to hurt her but he couldn't let his feelings get in the way of what he needed to do. "What about Jackson and Abbie?"

He stopped and stared at her a moment, "We'll work something out for Jacks and I would like to keep seeing Abbie, you know I love her like she was my own." Sylvie nodded her head. "Please don't do this." She begged, tears running down her face. "I'm sorry but we're both miserable and we've been doing this same back and forth for six years, I think it's time." Sylvie went to him; he wrapped her in a hug and kissed her forehead. "I love you but I think we both know we're not in love with each other and I think we've known it all along." Sylvie couldn't say anything, she was speechless but she also knew deep down that he was right.

"Mommy?" Sylvie snapped out of her thoughts. "Yeah baby?" Abbie was standing in front of her. "Can I stay with daddy tonight? It's the weekend and I miss him." Sylvie grabbed her hand and pulled her into her lap. "You don't want to stay with mommy and brother?" she asked as she tickled her. Abbie was giggling, "I do but I wanna play with Olivia, she just moved in next door." She was pouting trying to get her way. "Sure, I'll text your dad and let him know." Abbie jumped up, "Yes, thank you mommy."

Sylvie pulled out her phone, "Stop by and grab Abbie, she said she want to stay with you tonight." She hit send. "I'll be there after work, around six." Sylvie responded with a 'thumbs up' emoji and turned sat her phone down. It had always been easy with Abbie's dad, he was always there and never had any drama. Seven years and they had only argued one time; he made co-parenting easy, they had really become friends.

"We're really doing this?" she texted. He had been gone a week and had called once, it was the longest they had gone without talking in the six years they had been married and the only time he had went without talking to their son. "I can't do this right now Sylvie, I'm on shift, you know that, we'll talk later." Sylvie threw her phone across the couch and got up to get dinner started and get Abbie ready for her dad.

Sylvie answered the door and smiled, "Hey." She leaned in and gave him a hug and he kissed her on the cheek. "Abbie's upstairs with Jacks, I'm finishing dinner if you want to stay." She offered hoping he would; she really needed the adult company. "Free food? Of course I'm staying." He laughed. "Can you go up and get them please, dinner is just about done."

He smiled and yelled, "Abigail Marie Dawson get you your butt down here right now." Sylvie shook her head and laughed, "Okay that's one way to do it." Abbie came bounding down the stairs, "Daddy!" she flung herself into his arms and he picked her up. "How's my princess?" Abbie giggled, "Silly daddy I'm not a princess." He gasped, "Since when?" Abbie squirmed to get down, "Since I'm gonna be a cop like you." He laughed, "Are you sure you don't want to be something else? Maybe a paramedic or a doctor?" Abbie shook her head, "Nope, cop just like you."

He looked at Sylvie horrified, "She's made her mind up earlier this week Tonio." Sylvie shrugged. "She's seven, she'll change her mind again, don't worry. Besides Jackson told me he wanted to be a dog when he grows up." Sylvie chuckled as she set the table for dinner. "Baby, go get your brother and bring him down please and wash your hands for dinner." Sylvie asked Abbie and watched her take off up the stairs.

"Is Matt on shift?" Antonio asked. Sylvie nodded and Antonio noted the pained expression on her face. "What's wrong? You guys fighting again?" He hated it when they fought, it upset Abbie and Sylvie and he couldn't stand for either of them to be upset. "He left, I'm pretty sure for good this time. He's looking for an apartment." Antonio moved around the island to give her a hug. "I'm sure he'll be back, he always comes back. Sylvie shook her head, "I don't think I want him too, he's right, we don't work and we never have."

"Do you want me to talk to him?" Sylvie shook her head, "No, last time he was pissed that I talked to you about us. I think it's better if you just let it be." Antonio shrugged, "Fine but you know how I feel about it, you're Abbie's mom and I love you both. I don't want to see you hurt."

"MOM! Jacks won't come downstairs." Sylvie shook her head, looked at Antonio and laughed. "Jacks would play all night if we let him, I'll be right back." Sylvie headed up stairs.

Antonio walked around, he was used to being here, he had been in the house a hundred times over the past couple of years but he still felt uneasy. This was his daughters' home but not his and that always hurt his heart but she was a happy little girl and never knew any different than the life she was living at the moment. Sylvie had found out she was pregnant after they had already split up and he had tried to convince her to try again but he had hurt her and it took a long time for her to trust him again.

He stopped in front of a picture of a smiling happy family and stared, mom, dad, and their two perfect kids, except one didn't look like the others. Abbie was all wild curly brown hair, bright blue eyes, and perfectly tanned skin while the rest of the family was blonde hair and blue eyes. He stared at it another moment and moved on finding a picture of himself and Abbie swinging on a swing when she was about a year old.

He remembered the day; it was the last time he had tried to convince Sylvie to come back to him, he knew she had been dating Matt but he didn't care he wanted his family together. She told him she was pregnant and he knew he had lost her forever. He sighed and heard Sylvie coming down the stairs and turned to smile at her.

"Ready to eat?" she asked smiling leading Jackson down holding his hand. Antonio nodded his head, "Hey buddy!" he greeted the small blonde boy who looked like a clone of his dad. "Oh before I forget, my mom is having a Christmas party and she wanted me to invite you." Antonio remembered as they sat down for dinner. His mom still invited Sylvie to everything; she rarely showed thinking it would be awkward being there with Gabby. She hadn't talked to her in years, the last time being a fight about her dating Matt.

"I don't know, you should just take Abbie, and your girlfriend." Sylvie suggested. Abbie chimed in, "Daddy has a girlfriend?" Antonio laughed, "You and your sister are the only girls I need." Sylvie gave him a funny look. "What? He asked. "Nothing, I just thought you were dating that girl from headquarters, Natalie, right?" Antonio coughed; he didn't know anyone knew about that. "I wouldn't call it dating per say, more like we hung out and how did you hear about that?"

Sylvie smirked, "I know everything." Antonio readjusted in his chair, clearly uncomfortable, "I'm too old to date, I have two grown kids, a grandson, and a job that's chaotic on a good day. Abbie takes up the rest of my energy and time and I'm okay with that." He smiled at Abbie and stuck his tongue out.

Antonio finished eating and sat back in his chair watching the people in front of him, he tried not to let his mind wander there very often but each time Sylvie and Matt broke up he couldn't help but wonder if he could get his family back. He decided long ago he would take any relationship he could have with Sylvie even if it meant being just friends but if Matt was gone, there was hope. But who was he kidding, this wasn't the first time they had split and it probably wasn't the last. He shook the thought from his head and pushed back in his chair to stand. "I'll help clean up then we need to get going." He started clearing the table. "You don't have too, ya'll can go, I got it." Sylvie smiled at him and took the plates from his hands.

"Think about Christmas, I would love to have you there, you're family no matter how you feel, and bring Jacks." He really wanted her to come but knew she would put up a fight, he wished her and Gabby could get past it but Gabby was unwilling to budge. "I will, I promise, text me when your going to drop her off." She said as she gathered Abbie's things and handed them to him.

"Give mommy a kiss and hug." He picked Abbie up and leaned her over to Sylvie. "Love you guys, be careful." Sylvie waved them off as Antonio carried Abbie down the driveway to his truck.


	2. Chapter 2

Antonio checked his phone to make sure he had the right address "Is this where Matt lives, baby?" He turned to look at Abbie in the back seat. "Yup, this is where mommy dropped me and Jacks off last time with dad." He let out a deep breath; "I guess we should get you up there then." Abbie sighed, "Can't I just stay with you dad's house is boring, I don't have any toys here." He started to undo her carseat, "Mom's picking you up later, you're not staying the night and then one sleep and I will pick you up from Matt okay?" Abbie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "Okay but this is stupid. Why can't dad just be home?"

"Abigail, you don't say things are stupid." He was getting frustrated with her, she was sassy and opinionated and it drove him crazy when she would say whatever was on her mind, just like her sister and Aunt Gabby. "Fine." She pouted as she climbed out of the truck.

Antonio stood in the middle of Matt's living room and looked around thinking that Abbie was right the place was bare and there were no signs that kids lived there at all. "How's it going?" Matt asked as he reemerged from the bedroom after getting Abbie settled and playing on her iPad. "Busy but pretty good." There was always an awkwardness between the two, Antonio didn't hold anything against Matt, he was a good guy and a great dad and Gabby had left him, he couldn't fault him for moving on.

"Hey, I have a huge favor to ask you." Matt looked nervous; "Tomorrow when you pick Abbie up can you take Jacks too? His babysitter canceled and we're having trouble finding one." Antonio nodded. "Yeah of course, it's no problem." Matt smiled at him, "Thanks I appreciate it."

Antonio started fidgeting, "Can I ask you something without you thinking I'm prying? You know the last thing I ever do is get involved." Matt gave him a confused look, "Okay." He said simply. "When are you going home, they all miss you, and Abbie has been acting out a little more than usual." Antonio explained he was hoping it wouldn't turn into a fight, that wasn't what he wanted. "I want to, but I can't." Matt sounded defeated and sat on the couch.

Antonio crossed his arms and looked at him, "It's your family, you should. Just put all the other stuff aside and focus on the kids and Sylvie, they're what matter. Do you know what I would give to have my family? Don't let it go, I've done it twice and the second time was the worst decision of my life." He sighed.

"That's part of the problem, I have too and it was the worst mistake of my life." Antonio knew what Matt was referring too and just stared at him. "Sylvie, I love her, I really do but it was never meant to be." Antonio snorted, "Meant to be is bullshit and you know that. I don't want to fight but that's my daughter and Sylvie and you know what both of them mean to me. I stepped back and I didn't push, I could have but I didn't and I accepted long ago that you're Abbie's other dad and always will be but I won't put up with either one of them being hurt. So do me a favor and try to fix it."

Matt didn't say a word, he just hung his head and thought about what Antonio had said. He let out a big sigh and looked up at Antonio, "You've handled this a lot better than I ever would have, I should have never interfered in the first place." Antonio shifted his weight, "That's the past, we're here and now with two kids who need to know that everything is okay, they're confused, Abbie's getting in trouble at school and Sylvie's overwhelmed."

"Do you ever find it odd that you're Sylvie's best friend and not me, her husband?" Matt was staring at the wall and didn't seem to be listening Antonio noticed. "I do but when I think about it I always realize the reason and I hate you a little bit more each time but you're so fucking accepting of all this that I can't even get mad at you."

"Matt what the hell are you talking about?" Antonio was confused. "You know sometimes, a lot actually, I'll be watching Abbie play and she'll say something or move a certain way and I'll see Gabby and my heart will hurt for a moment." Antonio moved between Matt and the wall, "Bro, you need to snap out of this depression or whatever, go get some help." Antonio waited to see if Matt heard him.

"She's still in love with you, you do know that right?" Matt looked up at Antonio, who was growing more frustrated and concerned by the minute. "She loves you, she married you, this isn't a competition but if it was you won." Antonio threw his hands up. Matt shook his head, "No, I was the conciliation prize, she only went out with me after I begged her to hang out one night, she was thinking about getting back together with you. Come on, you had to have known that, Abbie was a baby and Sylvie wanted that family….with you."

"Okay, you need to snap out of this, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish but it needs to stop. Pull yourself together, are you okay to watch the kids until Sylvie gets off work?" Antonio was trying to get Matt to answer but he wouldn't.

"I think I need to fix everything, I took something that I never should have and the guilt just eats away at me all the time and you, you're just so accepting, you've never been mad at me and it drives me fucking crazy." Matt laughed, "How messed up is that? I stole your girlfriend and your baby and you still like me. I would have beat my ass but no you just roll with the punches so you can still be a part of their lives because you love them that much."

"If you want me to beat your ass meet me down at the gym and we'll go a round or two because trust me the only reason I never did was because I felt bad that Gabby walked out on you and I knew what I had to do to be able to see Abbie, otherwise I would have, no hesitation."

They had never talked about this kind of stuff; after Sylvie and Matt had gotten married they existed in the same circle but never really interacted except when they absolutely needed to. It was awkward for Antonio to say the least, his sisters' ex-husband married to his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child. He wanted to escape but Abigail and Jackson were there and he was worried about Matt's current mental state.

Matt stared at Antonio for a moment contemplating what he wanted to say; "I'm going to try to get Gabby back. You and Sylvie deserve a chance, we're all miserable and it's me who screwed it all up." Antonio was seeing red, he had had enough of this nonsense from Matt, he took a step forward and grabbed Matt by the shirt and pulled him up and pinned him against the door.

"This ends now." Antonio hissed in Matt's face. "I'm going to take Abbie and Jacks with me and wait for Sylvie, you're obviously not in any state to take care of them. Take that time to call someone and get your shit together because trust me when I tell you, I will make sure you do not see Abigail until I think you're okay. Do you understand me?"

Matt blinked and looked as if he had just realized Antonio was there. "I'm sorry, I think I've just been depressed lately, I'll talk to someone." Antonio let go of his shirt and stepped away from him. "I mean it let all that ancient shit go, call your wife, and get some help."

"Abigail, Jacks!" Antonio hollered from the front room. "Yeah, Daddy?" Abbie walked into the front room with her little brother following close behind. "Go get yours and jacks stuff, you two are going to spend the afternoon with me." He instructed her. "Yes!" she exclaimed and ran back to the room. "I'll get them to Sylvie." Antonio told him and moved back by the door to wait for the kids.

Sylvie walked through the front door to Antonio's apartment, she never knocked he told her not to a long time ago, she was welcome anytime. Antonio was sitting on the couch watching TV while the kids played in Abbie's room. "Why do you have the kids?" Sylvie asked, she was confused because Antonio had never watched Jacks before.

Antonio rubbed his face and sighed, "I went to drop Abbie off and Matt is not in a good place. He's talking nonsense and bringing up past stuff, I told him to get some help. I didn't think he was okay to watch either one of them so I took Jacks too, is that okay?"

"Of course it is, if you thought it was best for Jacks." She reassured him. "What nonsense was he talking?" She was curious and confused all at once and needed to know. "Trust me nothing you want to hear."

"Yeah, I do, especially if it's about me." She gave him a look and he knew he didn't have a choice.

Antonio was fidgeting with his fingers staring at the TV, "He said I'm your best friend." He didn't want to look at her; he was scared to see the truth in her eyes. She slapped his shoulder and startled him, "Well, you are, and have been for a long time, I thought you knew that." She smiled at him. "Yeah, I did." He peeked over at her and smirked.

"What else?" she demanded. He thought about what he was going to say a moment and decided he would be brave and lay it all out; he looked her square in the eyes. "He said you're still in love with me and back then you we're going to try to work it out with me." Sylvie looked away quick and turned red, "What? No, I'm married, I love Matt, yes we're having problems but." She paused as if she had just realized something. "But I don't want to work it out." she said slowly as if she had just had an epiphany.

"I don't want to fix it, I'm done." She repeated to herself. Antonio just watched her, he saw a weight lift off her and she looked relieved. She sat there and stared off into space, "Are you okay?" he touched her shoulder, she flinched and looked at him, "Yeah, I am, I really am." She laughed and leaned forward to hug him. "Thanks for always being here to talk to me." She kissed him on the cheek and sat back next to him to watch TV.

He didn't know how to react, the woman he was in love with and had been in love with for almost ten years had just decided she was done with her marriage. He looked over at her and for the first time in years she looked genuinely happy.

"Mommy!" Abbie and Jacks exclaimed as Abbie jumped on the couch and burrowed between them and Jacks climbed up and cuddled into Sylvie's other side. "You have a good day with your dad sweetie?" Abbie nodded her head, "I always do." Antonio didn't want them to leave, "Stay for dinner, we'll order pizza and watch a movie like the good old days."


	3. Chapter 3

Matt stood on the front porch staring at the door, he didn't know if he should knock or just walk in. It was still his house, he still lived here, but he had been gone for two months. He decided to knock and heard a small voice yell "hold on" and the lock being undone, the door opened and there stood his daughter but not really, he knew there was a very good possibility that he would no longer be able to see her if him and Sylvie divorced. "Dad!" she exclaimed and wrapped herself around him for a hug, he squeezed her tight, "Hey baby, where's your mom?"

"She's in the kitchen." Abbie grabbed his hand and led him through the house. "Mom, Dad's here." She announced his arrival and climbed onto a barstool. "Hey." He greeted Sylvie as he stood in the doorway and watched her move about the kitchen as she made dinner. She looked up and smiled, "Hey." She repeated back to him. "I was hoping we could talk face to face tonight." He said as he stepped closer and climbed onto the barstool next to Abbie.

"We do need to talk but I don't want little ears listening, so how about you stay for dinner and we'll talk after?" she offered, he smiled at her, "Yeah, I'd like that."

Matt came down the stairs and plopped on the couch next to Sylvie, "Five books but he's asleep." He yawned, "He about wore me out." Sylvie laughed, "I think he misses you, we don't entertain him all the time like you do."

Matt's expression turned somber and he looked at Sylvie, "I miss you guys." He sighed. Sylvie silently watched him a moment thinking about his words. "We miss you too." She wasn't lying, he was her husband and she loved him no matter how things were going, he was a good man, he had his faults but no more than anyone else.

Matt took the opportunity and leaned in and kissed her, he lingered and when she didn't pull away he gently pushed her against the couch deepening the kiss, she pushed him back and held him at arms length. "I'm sorry, we can't do this." Matt sat back frustrated. "Why not?" He asked.

"You left, you wanted out, I've accepted that." Sylvie stated calmly watching him, she could tell he was struggling with his decision. "What if I made a mistake?" he peeked up at her. "Maybe you did and maybe didn't but it's done and we need to find a way to move on from here."

Matt exhaled and rubbed his face, "I'm scared I'm going to lose you guys." He admitted. Sylvie grabbed his hand with both of hers and held it, "Me and the kids are still here and we're still your family and as long as we don't do anything stupid to complicate this, everything will be fine." She watched him as chewed on this bottom lip thinking about what she said. "Except one of those kids isn't mine and I don't want to lose her." Sylvie could hear the worry and sadness in his voice.

"What makes you think you would lose her?" She was confused why he would think he would lose Abbie. "Do you seriously think that if we get divorced Antonio won't take the opportunity to finally stick it to me and take the one thing he knows would hurt?" Sylvie looked at him like he had lost his mind.

"He has never made any indication that he's jealous or wanted to keep her from you. He knows that would hurt her and he would never do that and you know that." She was agitated with him, Antonio had never gotten upset over anything that happened in their household and never questioned Abbie calling Matt 'dad' he just accepted it because it was what made his daughter happy.

"So what are we going to do about everything else?" he asked trying to change the subject. Sylvie sighed and relaxed a little, "Honestly, at this point I don't really know." She shrugged her shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll keep paying half the house and Jacks school until we work out something more permanent." He offered.

Sylvie nodded, "I want us to have the same arrangement for Jackson that Tonio and I have for Abbie. This is already hard enough on him without having to worry about a custody agreement." Sylvie and Antonio had worked out an open visitation agreement when Abbie was about two where if either parent wanted her they could have her and she could move between parents as she wished, it had worked well for them over the past years and prevented fighting over who's weekend it was to have her.

"I'd like that." He agreed. "And I'll talk to Antonio about Abbie, see what we can work out, okay?" Sylvie reached over to squeeze his shoulder to reassure him. "Thanks but I'm not going to hold my breath on it." He muttered and laid back against the couch grabbing the remote.

Matt heard knocking and opened his eyes, it was daylight, he must have fallen asleep watching TV he thought to himself. His eye caught blonde hair on the other part of the sectional and he assumed Sylvie had fallen asleep also. The knocking was persisting so he pushed himself up and headed for the door. He pulled the door open to find Antonio on the other side.

"Hey man." Matt greeted him as he stepped aside and let him in. "Umm, Sylvie's asleep on the couch and I'm pretty sure Abbie is still asleep." Antonio nodded his head slowly and peeked over the couch at Sylvie who was stirring. Matt felt uncomfortable, "Anyway, I gotta get going, will you let her know I left? Thanks." Matt stuttered as he made a quick exit.

Antonio smirked satisfied with knowing that Matt was uncomfortable that he had caught him there in the morning. "Hey sunshine, Matt just left." He said as he plucked the corner of the blanket up to reveal her face. "It's not what you're thinking." She said groggily as she sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"You have no idea what I'm thinking." He chuckled and she threw a pillow at him. "Whatever!" she laughed. "I'm going up to get Abbie, we have to be at my mom's at ten." He winked and headed up the stairs.

Antonio knew exactly what he was doing, he was flirting but he knew he wouldn't make a move on her, at least not until he was sure her and Matt were over for good and their divorce was finalized. His heart had dropped when he pulled up to the house and had found Matt's truck but as soon as he was inside and realized they had fallen asleep on the couch he felt better. And if he was being honest, it amused him that Matt was so uncomfortable.

Sylvie stood in the kitchen, just staring into space, her mind was everywhere and she couldn't pin down a solid thought. She had never imagined she would get divorced, she wanted to find that one person who she could be with forever but clearly she had chosen wrong, it had been a disaster from the beginning but she was determined to make it work. Fight after fight, therapist after therapist, Sylvie didn't want to admit that she had made a mistake and lost her best friend in the process so she held on tight for five years.

"Mommy!" Jackson yelled as he ran through the kitchen and slammed into Sylvie's legs causing her to lose balance and bringing her out of her thoughts. "Morning, big guy!" she laughed and grabbed him and sat him on the counter. Antonio and Abbie followed him into the kitchen, "We're going to hang out with my mom, Eva, and Alex today if you guys want to join, we're going to the zoo." Antonio hoped she would but knew she would probably decline.

Sylvie thought a moment, "I think that sounds fun, plus its been awhile since I've seen your mom and Eva." Jackson's face lit up, "We're going to the zoo with Sissy!" he exclaimed as he wiggled off the counter. Sylvie looked at Antonio and smiled, "Thanks."

Antonio pulled up to his mom's house and sighed, "What's wrong?" Sylvie asked. Antonio looked at her and pointed at the blue car in his mom's driveway, "Gabby's here." He said apprehensively knowing that Gabby would probably cause a scene. "It's okay we can wait in the car." Sylvie didn't want a confrontation; she had avoided any fights with Gabby for six years and she wasn't about to start now.

"No, that's not fair, come in, hopefully she'll stay in check with the kids here." Antonio didn't know if he was trying to convince her or himself. "I hope so." Sylvie said as she undid her seatbelt and climbed out to help Jacks out.

Antonio pushed the door open and headed for the family room, Sylvie and the kids following behind him. Halfway down the hall Gabby rounded the corner and they came face to face with her. "Hey Sis." Antonio greeted her, she didn't respond, her gaze moving between Sylvie and Jacks. "Hi, Gabby." Sylvie squeaked out, hoping the situation would not escalate. "What's she doing here?" Gabby hissed moving her attention to Antonio.

"She's going to the zoo with us today." Antonio explained, Gabby snorted, "God, she just can't help herself can she? What Matt leaves you and you jump on the first male you see, never mind it's Antonio and you've already broken him how many times before, what's another right?"

Sylvie was trying her best to keep her mouth shut, she knew Gabby was still hurt but deliberately being hateful in front of her kids was crossing the line. "I don't want to fight in front of my kids, can we please not do this?" Sylvie pleaded with her.

Gabby plastered on a fake smile, "Sure, we wouldn't want to cause a scene in front of Matt Casey's precious little clone now would we." she said rolling her eyes. "Gabby!" Antonio warned, "He's five, none of this is his fault and Abbie is here too, she doesn't need to hear this either." Antonio wanted her to stop; he didn't feel like being a referee. "Well, can she please tell her husband to not repeatedly show up at my firehouse trying to talk to me? It's very tacky and we wouldn't want rumors to start and get up there to headquarters where little miss perfect works now would we?" Gabby smirked; she was clearly trying to provoke Sylvie.

Sylvie kept quiet; she wasn't going to engage someone who was clearly still angry and trying to start an argument. "Okay sis, we're going to go find Mom and Eva we don't have time for this. I hope you have a better day." Antonio grabbed Sylvie's hand and pulled her past a glaring Gabby.

"I've avoided that for six years and I could have gone another lifetime without it." Sylvie whispered to Antonio as they headed toward the living room. "She's good at holding grudges, trust me, she still has some from when we were kids." Antonio chuckled.

"Sylvie!" Eva jumped up holding a one-year-old Alex and rushed toward Sylvie pulling her into a hug. "Omg! It's been forever, I heard you had a little boy." Sylvie gushed as Eva shoved the baby into her arms. Sylvie and Eva had always gotten along but after she had married Matt, Sylvie barely saw her except for the rare occasions Eva would pick Abbie up for Antonio when he was busy at work or she happened to be spending the day with them.

"Yeah, his name is Alexander, Alex for short. I'm so in love with him, it's unbelievable." Eva said excitedly. "And gosh, Jacks has gotten so big since the last time I saw him."

Sylvie turned to look at Antonio while holding Alex and smiled at him, "Hey grandpa, I think someone wants to see you." Sylvie teased, knowing how Antonio felt about being a grandfather already. He leaned in close making sure only she could hear, "I'll show you grandpa." He whispered and winked at her as he lifted Alex from Sylvie's arms.

It had been a long day, Sylvie was exhausted and the kids were sound asleep. Antonio had helped her carry them in and get them in bed. Sylvie lay on the couch with her head next to Antonio and yawned. "You need to stop." She stated and Antonio looked at her confused, "Stop what?" he asked. "The flirting, you're doing it on purpose. You're my best friend and I don't want to compromise that." She was being honest, she loved him and perhaps she was still in love with him but she didn't think of him romantically anymore.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away today, it won't happen again." He tried to sound apologetic but really his heart was breaking a little. "I'm married and even though I've decided I'm done, marriage still means something to me." She gave him a weak smile.

"I think I should go, I have to be to work early tomorrow." Antonio started to get up but Sylvie grabbed his hand and he stopped to look at her. "I'm sorry if I led you on in someway, you're the last person I ever want to hurt." She tried to apologize. Antonio shook his head, "No, it was all me, like I said, I got carried away that's all."

He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead while trying to resist the overwhelming urge to kiss her on the lips. "Text me if you need something, I'll see you later." He stated and quickly headed out the door.


	4. Chapter 4

"Shh…come on you have to go before Abigail is up!" Sylvie hissed trying to move the sleeping body next to her but he wouldn't budge. "Please, this is already confusing enough, she doesn't need to see you here and neither does Jacks." She pleaded pushing him towards the edge of the bed. "Okay, I'm moving." He muttered as he rolled back toward her and tried to grab her.

"No!" She smacked his hand away and hurried out of the bed. "This was a mistake, a tiny slip-up, it's not going to happen again." She whispered as she pulled on her clothes and headed toward the bathroom. "It doesn't need to just be a slip-up; you know we are still technically married." Matt pointed out as he rolled off the bed and headed toward her.

Sylvie stood in the bathroom doorway watching as he came toward her. He was right she thought to herself, they were still technically married but they had been separated for almost a year. If he hadn't come over to bring the divorce papers the night before, they wouldn't be in this predicament. A little too much tequila and reminiscing had landed them right where Sylvie didn't want to be.

"We signed the papers and they're getting filed today. We'll be divorced within the week." She tried to reason with him, but he was standing entirely too close and she couldn't focus. "We don't have to file them, we can still back out." He whispered as he leaned in to kiss her. She pulled back and shut the door quickly stopping herself from doing something she knew she would regret later.

"No, Matt we can't, it's over. We've been over this a million times. You and I don't work, we never have, you're just feeling sentimental that's all; it'll pass, I promise, but right now, I need you to go before the kids wake up." Sylvie begged him through the door. "I'm going to hold on to the papers an extra day so you can really think about what happened last night and if you actually want to go through with this." Matt persisted through the door.

Sylvie heard the bedroom door open and listened for the front door to shut before breathing a sigh of relief, she slid down the door and placed her head between her legs and began to cry. She had worked so hard to keep her feelings for Matt separate from the whole situation, but a little bit of alcohol and she fell into bed with him. She didn't want to be this person; she was able to be friends with Antonio and hadn't even been tempted to sleep with him when they broke up. That probably had something to do with him cheating on her, she thought to herself before shaking her head and pushing herself up to get in the shower.

Sylvie grabbed her phone "Can you take Abbie tonight?" She texted Antonio, knowing it wouldn't be a problem. Sylvie needed a night to be alone so she could think without any distractions. Her phone buzzed, "Sure, is everything okay?" Antonio responded. "We'll talk when you get here." she shot back at him before turning her phone off and heading up to get the kids up.

Sylvie sat at her desk and looked around; she had transferred to headquarters when she found out she was pregnant with Jacks. Matt had insisted that she couldn't be a mom of a baby and a toddler and continue shift work, so she reluctantly left ambo. She hated desk duty but it was a pay increase and she worked normal hours so she could be home every night with the kids. She had turned into the very thing she had ran from when she came to Chicago, a housewife who cooked, clean, and made sure dinner was on the table every night. She sighed and grabbed her phone, "You wanna hang out tonight?" she texted.

Maybe she didn't want to be alone after all and a little girl time was needed. "Picked up an extra shift, sorry or I would." Stella replied. Sylvie rolled her eyes and texted the next person she could think of, "Find a sitter for Abbie and hang out with me tonight?" She stared at the text for several minutes before hitting send.

Antonio felt his phone buzz and looked, he was confused, it was a text from Sylvie asking him to find a sitter for Abbie and to hang out. Sylvie had made it abundantly clear that she wasn't interested but that hadn't stopped him from subtly flirting with her over the last year. "Who's that?" Kim asked as she leaned over his shoulder to look. "Sylvie, she asked me to hang out with her tonight." He showed her the text. "I wish you'd figure out that she's not worth all this, you could've moved on a long time ago." Kim rolled her eyes at him.

Kim and Antonio had been partners for over ten years, she knew him better than anyone else at this point. When he took over the unit after Voight retired three years before he still kept Kim as a partner. They had lost Hailey and Kevin to other units and had several new faces, but Kim was his constant, she never doubted him and never let him get away with his bullshit.

"It's not about her, it's about Abbie." He tried to convince her. Kim laughed, "Keep telling yourself that but you know as well as I do that it's always been about her." She stared him down begging him to refute her. Antonio looked away knowing she could see right through his lies, "Whatever, do you ever mind your own business?"

"Fine, do whatever you want but when you get hurt, I don't want to hear about it." She said as she turned and left his office. Antonio watched her leave and returned his attention back to this phone, he quickly replied "Okay" and texted Eva, who agreed to watch her little sister.

Antonio had never hung out with Sylvie alone with no kids, at least not since they broke up. He was nervous not knowing what to expect, he knew what he was hoping for but didn't want to be disappointed, so he was trying to keep his expectations low. Eva had already picked Abbie up and Jacks had gone with Matt, so it was just her inside the house. He stood and stared at the door wondering if he should knock or just let himself in, he raised his hand to knock but the door swung open and there stood Sylvie smiling at him.

"Hey!" She greeted him, "Hey!" he replied as he brushed past her into the front room. Antonio turned to face her and looked her over, she had on sweats and a big t-shirt with her long blonde curls in a messy bun on top of her head, but damn if she didn't still look just as beautiful as the day Gabby introduced them on the apparatus floor at 51, it seemed like an entire lifetime ago. A lifetime before he had screwed up and lost his family for a second time, a lifetime before he took the one person he can't live without for granted and disappointed and hurt her worse than he had ever done to anyone.

"I have to tell you something, but you have to promise to not breathe a word to anyone." Sylvie startled Antonio out of his thoughts, "Umm, okay? I promise." He agreed. She grabbed his hand and drug him toward the couch, "Sorry, I tried to get Stella and I know this will probably make you a little uncomfortable, but we talk about all sorts of things and we're friends, right?" she could feel herself rambling, it was a nervous habit and she was nervous to tell him. "Yeah, you're my best friend." Antonio confirmed and Sylvie let the breath out she was holding, "Good cause I need to get this off my chest." Sylvie visibly relaxed a little.

Sylvie buried her face in her hands, "Matt came over last night to bring the divorce papers for me to sign and we started drinking and well, umm, we kinda slept together." Sylvie peeked between her fingers to see Antonio's reaction, but his poker face was exceptional.

Internally, Antonio was dying, he thought, hell he didn't know what he thought anymore. He didn't want to upset or disappoint her when she is trusting him with her secret so he did the only thing he could, try to provide her with a little bit of validation. "It's normal, look how many times me and you slept together during our breakups and Laura and I, also during the divorce and after a couple times too."

"God for not being together we did have a lot of sex, didn't we?" Sylvie laughed glad that Antonio had already been through this too. Antonio nodded, still reeling from the secret she _had_ to share with him. "Although, it's not the same as being married, we were only dating." Sylvie pointed out. "We were engaged for part of it." Antonio regretted saying it as soon as her face dropped. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up." He apologized, knowing that time was some of their worst memories. "It's okay, it was a long time ago and you're not that person anymore and neither am I." she smiled at him to let him know everything would be okay.

Antonio leaned back against the couch and rubbed his hands down his face, he let himself get disappointed again, she clearly was never going to give him a second chance, not that he deserved it, but he would've still liked another shot. "So, what do you want to do? Drink? Go to a movie? Just chill? We have all night and I have nowhere else to be." He tried to sound upbeat, but his heart was breaking again, and she didn't even know she was doing it.

Sylvie scooted next to him and leaned into his shoulder, "Thanks for always being here for me and Abbie." Antonio wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in tight against him, "You're my family and I love you guys, I'll always be here for both of you." He squeezed her tighter into him. "Can we just order a movie and lay here? I'm exhausted and I never get completely free nights." She yawned and grabbed the blanket and threw it over her lap.

Antonio could here Sylvie breathing and knew she had fallen asleep, they were only forty-five minutes in, and she was completely out. He had to laugh; she never could finish an entire movie, he used to tease her that she was always asleep before the opening credits were done. He didn't know what to do with her, he didn't want to leave her alone on the couch, so he decided to carry her up to her bed where she could get a good night sleep and he would crash on the couch so she wouldn't be all alone in the house.

He laid her down and pulled the covers over her and watched for a couple seconds to make sure she stayed asleep, he felt silly like he was putting Abbie to bed. He leaned down and kissed her on the forehead and whispered, "I love you." Before turning to walk away. He felt a hand grab his and pull him back toward the bed, she pulled him in close and grabbed both sides of his face pulling him even closer and kissed him gently on the lips, "I love you too." She whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

Antonio stood staring at Sylvie, his fingers resting on his lips, he hadn't imagined it, she really did kiss him and said she loved him, but she had fallen right back asleep. His heart didn't know how to handle the situation, if she was dreaming or didn't remember he wouldn't be able to handle it, or worse if she thought it was Matt she was kissing and it was a reflex, he would die.

He left her lying on the bed and went back downstairs and sat on the couch. He couldn't concentrate, this is what he wanted more than anything, he had waited it out and she was finally divorced but everything over the past year had been her making it very clear that she wasn't interested. He didn't know what to do and now here he was alone with her in the house, her upstairs sleeping and him sitting like an idiot on the couch waiting for a girl who probably didn't want him.

He clicked play on the remote and leaned back, the day had been exhausting and it was late. He could barely keep his eyes open and drifted to sleep. _CRASH! _Antonio heard glass breaking and jumped to his feet, he was disoriented, and it was pitch black in the house, the TV must've turned itself off at some point. He could hear something coming from the kitchen, it sounded like someone was in the house.

He reached for his gun and remembered he locked it in the safe in his truck, he never brought his gun into Sylvie's house because of the kids. He felt his way to the stairs, his eyes starting to readjust to the darkness he could make out the stairs and he made his way Sylvie's room as quietly as possible. He pushed open the door and found her still asleep.

He covered her mouth with his hand and shook her gently, "Sylvie, it's me, there's someone in the house, do not make a sound." He whispered as quietly as he could. Sylvie nodded her head under his hand, "I want you to lock the door behind me, get in the closet and make yourself as small as possible, call 911 and text Kim. Do not open that door for anyone, except me or Kim." She shook her head, "No, Antonio stay." She pleaded with him, he kissed her on the forehead and left, she followed him and locked the door doing exactly what he said, knowing he would never cower in a closet from an intruder.

Antonio could hear someone downstairs going through the kitchen as he descended the stairs as quietly as possible, he was wishing he could make it out to his truck for his gun but wasn't willing to leave Sylvie in the house alone so he had grabbed the baseball bat from Jacks' room, it was small but it would have to do. He followed the wall along the stairs to the kitchen and peeked in, he could see a shadow going through the drawers, he was a big guy, easily twice his size. He decided to stay where he was and wait for the intruder to come to him and surprise him while he came around the corner. He closed his eyes and sighed, hoping that Kim and the team were on their way and that patrol cars were responding.

He peeked around the corner again and saw the guy had moved onto a different section of the kitchen. "Move and I'll blow your head off." He felt the hot breath on his neck as the cold medal touched the base of his skull. "There's nothing here except electronics, take whatever you want and go." Antonio raised his hands in surrender. "Nah, big ole' house like this, there's gotta be a safe, where is it?" Antonio shook his head, "I have no idea, I don't live here, I'm just housesitting, and they didn't say anything about a safe." He lied wanting to keep Sylvie safe and her presence unknown.

"And where's the pretty little blonde, I saw yesterday?" The gunman asked, _SHIT!_ Antonio thought, "Her and her kids went to go visit her parents, I'm the only one here." He shoved the gun harder into Antonio's neck, "You better not be fucking lying, where's your phone?" Antonio paused for a moment thinking, it wasn't in this pocket or lying next to him on the couch when he got up, "I think it's inside the couch, it must've fallen when I was sleeping."

"Hey, he says he's the only one here and he don't live her or know about no safe." The gunman hollered at the man in the kitchen. "Nah, he's lying, I've seen that truck here a couple times before, take him upstairs and search."

Antonio was praying that Sylvie got ahold of 911 and Kim. "Up the stairs and don't try anything or I'll put a bullet in your skull." The gunman shoved the gun hard into Antonio's neck, "Move." Antonio started walking, "Okay, I'll do whatever you say, just don't shoot me." He was speaking loudly as he started up the stairs so Sylvie would know they were coming.

Antonio was watching the gunman out of the corner of his eye, he could feel the gun pressed into his back between his shoulder blades, he was more than willing to take a bullet if it meant they wouldn't find Sylvie.

He saw his opportunity; the gunman turned his head when he saw blue and red lights flashing. Antonio elbowed the gunman in the face and he smacked into the wall, Antonio grabbed for the gun. Antonio heard the shot, and everything went white and his ears started ringing, he could feel the bullet ripping through his chest as if it were moving in slow motion. The pain was unbearable, he could feel himself falling down the stairs but could do nothing to stop it, he was no longer in control of his body. He knew Sylvie was safe and dying to protect her was worth it.

All of a sudden Kim was standing above him, he tried to talk but couldn't get any words out and he couldn't move. She looked upset, like she was trying not to cry as she held pressure to his wound. She was speaking to him, but it was muffled, he couldn't feel anything anymore, the entire world was slipping away, and he only wanted to sleep, his eyes were getting droopy.

"GOD DAMN IT, GET THE FUCKING PARAMEDICS IN HERE NOW!" Kim was screaming at the officers as she was watching Antonio slip away, the tears flowing down her face that she was at a loss to stop. Sylvie stood in the corner, she couldn't move, she was trained for these situations, but it was Antonio. "SYLVIE, GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE AND START CPR!" Kim screamed at her. Sylvie snapped out of it and jumped in. "WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?" Kim questioned her as she checked his pulse.

Sylvie just shook her head, "I don't know, I was asleep, and he woke me up and put me in the closet, I tried to make him stay with me, but he wouldn't." Sylvie was trying to figure out how she even got to her bed, last thing she remembered was watching the movie with him. "Of course, he didn't, he would protect you at all costs, you and Abbie are his whole world." Kim looked up and caught Sylvie's eyes, confirming exactly what Sylvie had thought all along.

The paramedics came through the door, Sylvie gave them a rundown on his vitals and condition and her and Kim stepped back as the paramedics scooped him up and ran with him, Sylvie following behind, "I'm riding." She informed them as she climbed in the back. "I'll meet you there." Kim nodded at her as she slammed the doors and watched the ambulance speed away.


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm losing him, how much longer?" the medic was working at lightening pace trying to keep Antonio from dying, "we're three minutes out". Sylvie felt as if life was moving in slow motion, she could see him fading but was powerless to do anything, the medic was good at his job and she wouldn't have done a single thing different she thought as she watched him work expertly on Antonio. She held onto Antonio's hand fearing if she let go, he would too.

"This is taking too long, we needed there thirty seconds ago, I might have to crack his chest here if we're not there in the next fifteen seconds." Sylvie could tell the medic was starting panic and her tears turned to sobs, "you're not cracking his chest in the ambo." She choked out between sobs. "Ma'am, I'll do what's medically necessary." "I'm a paramedic, I know the chances of infection and death raise significantly if his chest is cracked in here, so no as his medical proxy you do not have permission." She gained her bearings and stood up to the medic as she saw the hospital come into sight.

The room was small and overcrowded and Sylvie wanted nothing more than to escape but she was needed, and this was Abigail's dad, it was Antonio and no matter her feelings towards the others in the room, she was staying. She could feel Gabby's eyes on her, she had arrived about an hour after the ambo had rolled in, Antonio has been rushed straight to surgery with a promise from Conner that there would be someone out to update them periodically but it had been five hours and no one had come. Tensions were running high and it was eventual that someone would snap, the question was who?

Sylvie watched as Gabby leaned over and whispered something to another paramedic, presumably Gabby's partner, and she laughed and glanced at Sylvie and smirked. Sylvie had had enough and was at her breaking point, she could feel all the anger from everything that had ever happened between the two of them boiling to the surface, "If you're going to act like a child at least have the balls to say whatever your saying to my face." She regretted the words as soon as she said them, but it was too late, Gabby was already on the defensive.

"Not everything is about you, you know some of us are here because we're his family, why are you even here? Let me guess you're playing with him again, you'll get whatever you want and then break his heart, well good going Brett this time you probably got him killed." Her words came off like venom stinging with every word as it slashed her open just a little more.

"I'm here because I'm Abbie's mom and his best friend, I love him as much as any of you do, so make your little jokes about me and trash me behind my back but nothing is ever going to make me hate you, you were my best friend once and your my daughters aunt, you're family no matter how you feel about me and I would rather have had been shot than have to explain to his child that she'll never see her dad again." Sylvie bowed her head not wanting Gabby to see the tears running down her face.

"Perfect Sylvie takes the highroad, imagine that." Gabby snickered. "Better than the bitch road." Sylvie snapped her head up completely flabbergasted at Eva's words. "Eva no." she tried to stop her but it was too late.

"Ohh, Eva, you really don't want to start something that really has nothing to do with you." Gabby warned as the corners of her mouth curled.

"Has nothing to do with me? She's my little sisters' mom, he's my dad, you're my aunt, this has everything to do with me! And you're making this unbearable, my dad is in an operating room with a bullet in his chest because he was trying to protect someone he loves which is something he would do for anyone of us in this room and we're out here fighting over a man you divorced ten years ago, you didn't want him anymore!" Eva threw her hands in the air and laughed incredulously; she was sick of the dancing around the subject.

"Well, I leave for a couple months and come back and my so-called best friend is married to my ex-husband and pregnant. That's not something you just get over and poof you accept because I can't escape it, I turn the corner and oh there's my niece who looks just like Sylvie or oops there's the whole damn perfect family at the grocery store and I have to leave because it's too uncomfortable, or how about she just randomly shows up to my mothers' house on a Saturday with the clone of Matt. And then I have her husband stalking me at my firehouse, trying to exclaim his love, I thought you guys were happily married or are you ready to move on, I mean that's what you did to Antonio when things got a little too complicated right?"

Sylvie shook her head and took a deep breath, "You don't know what happened between me and Antonio and frankly it's none of your business and I'm not going to put words in his mouth when he is lying on an operating table, he deserves better than that. And I'm sorry, for how me and Matt happened, I don't know how many more ways I can say that but I'm not going to apologize for either of my kids, not matter how much discomfort they may cause you." Sylvie crossed her arms and sat back in the chair and stared at Gabby, she was done crying.

"He cheated on her." Sylvie her Antonio's mom say, "He told me everything and he regrets it and spent all these years just trying to make up for hurting you, he still loves you, trust me a mother knows." Sylvie smiled at the woman who she had adored since the day they had met so many years before.

"Antonio wouldn't cheat on perfect Sylvie." Gabby rolled her eyes, refusing to believe that for even a second. "He did, I overheard him talking to Adam about it a couple years ago. It was while he was undercover, right?" Eva looked at Sylvie to confirm what she had heard, Sylvie nodded, "I found out I was pregnant three weeks after he told me." Sylvie sighed and gave Eva a small smile.

"Why didn't you ever tell me that?" Sylvie shrugged her shoulders, "I didn't want to ruin your perfect image of your big brother." Gabby eyed her debating whether she should accept the explanation but she was interrupted before she could process the situation any further.

"Family for Antonio Dawson" Conner had appeared, Gabby and Sylvie both stood, praying for him to give them good news. "Surgery was very touch and go, I thought I had lost him a couple times, but we were able to get the bleeding under control. He is being moved to CCU where he will remain on life support until he is able to breath on his own, we will monitor his brain activity and organ function over the next several days to check for improvement. He is nowhere out of the woods and this could go either way very easily." Connor looked around the room at all the somber faces, he knew Antonio only by reputation, he was a good guy and judging by the presence in the room, he was very well loved.

"Can we see him?" Eva asked as she grabbed Sylvie's hand for comfort. "A couple more hours and I'll start letting people up to see him in pairs but only for a few minutes and only one can stay with him overnight, preferably spouse or medical proxy who can make decisions." Conner explained as he made his way toward the door.

"Who's his medical proxy?" Gabby looked at her mom who shook her head and pointed at Sylvie. "She is." Gabby rolled her eyes, "Of course, who else would it be?" sarcasm rolling off her in waves.


End file.
